The Young General
by RatherNerdyMan
Summary: Jaune Arc relies heavily on his ethics and beliefs. But what will he do when those closest to him are in danger? This is a story of how Jaune changes with the world around him.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

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><p>"Say that one more time Arc, I dare you!" Cardin said pulling on the bunny faunus, Velvet's, ears for the last time.<p>

"I said leave her alone Cardin!" Jaune practically screamed at the well-known bully of Beacon Academy. Cardin let go of Velvet's ears only to get up face-to-face with Jaune.

"You may have saved my life in Forever Falls, Jauney-Boy. But I've had it with your annoying face" Cardin hissed through clenched teeth. About to reveal Jaune's secret of getting into the school on fake records to everyone in the cafeteria, including his team and team RWBY. Jaune saw pure hatred in Cardin's eyes. He would soon regret this next decision for the rest of his life. He did what he swore to himself he would never do… Fight a human. He'd always based himself on the belief that fighting people was a weak way of just finding a solution to a simple problem.

Jaune clenched his fist in pure anger. He proceeded to punch Cardin straight in the face guessing his plans of revealing his secret, hoping that Cardin's blind rage would make him forget the whole thing. It worked better than Jaune thought, for Cardin didn't fight back, he just stood up and…. Left? Jaune then collapsed into himself and started crying profusely on the floor.

"Jaune?!" Pyrrha yelled as she ran over to the knight on the floor in the middle of the cafeteria, followed by the rest of her team. Jaune was out cold…

Yang and the rest of team RWBY walked over to the knight.

"Ahhhh… Did Vomit-Boy tiwe his wittle sewf out?" Yang said as the NPR of JNPR glared daggers at Yang effectively shutting her yap.

"You know how Jaune is, Yang" Ruby said as she glared at Yang for kicking him while he's down… And unconscious.

"He probably couldn't handle the stress that his recent actions put on him" Weiss said matter-of-factly.

Pyrrha scooped Jaune up bridal style and started taking him back to their shared dorm room. If you were there, you might have seen the lights reflect off of the newly formed tears on her otherwise perfect face.

"I told you to rely on us you idiot" Pyrrha whispered to the unconscious Jaune through her tears.

The rest of teams JNPR and RWBY all left, except Yang, who stood there by herself in the, now empty, cafeteria.

'Wiess it something I said?' Yang thought to herself with a giggle.

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><p><strong><em>The Next Day<em>**

Jaune woke up with a stuffy nose and a cold sweat.

'Good going big-shot, you finally stand up to Cardin, then you cry and pass out…' Jaune thought to himself while trying to get out of his bed. "Trying" being the big word here, for when he tried moving his leg he found his partner tightly latched onto it. Jaune felt the heat rise to his face as he let out a massive blush. Not wanting to wake the huntress, he tried to go back to sleep. Right before he dozed off his vibrating scroll jolted him up again. He had received a message from Cardin.

_'Meet me at Beacon Cliffs ALONE after classes today… And bring your equipment'_

Jaune's auditory gulp could be heard from across the hall, that is, if anyone was awake.

"Just my luck" Jaune groaned before dropping the scroll on the floor and accepting the sweet ten minutes of sleep he had before normal morning activities ensued…

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

(I hope I didn't do horribly, feel free to leave constructive reviews people :D)


	2. Chapter 2: The Book

**Chapter 2**

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><p><em><strong>'Meet me at Beacon Cliffs ALONE after classes today… And bring your equipment'<strong>_

Jaune looked at his scroll for what seemed like the hundredth time today. He was nervous to say the least.

He didn't want to tell anyone about the message he'd received from Cardin in the morning. What happened yesterday was bad enough, he didn't want to be treated like a kid. He had come to Beacon to learn and train to protect those in need, not to get protected himself. All of the events that had happened took out a big chunk of the very little pride that he had in the first place. During lunch he was walking to his friends' table when he caught Cardin making the slicing throat gesture with his thumb. As if Jaune wasn't already scared enough. He sat at the table and stared at his food, not eating a bite. Ruby, who usually snuck glances at Jaune while he ate because she thought he was cute while eating, noticed Jaunes worried expression and was starting to worry for the boy.

"Jaune? Is everything alright?" Ruby asked concerned.

"Huh…? Oh, hey. Yeah… I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Jaune replied with a forced smile.

That made everyone wince, Jaune was not the best at lying and it really showed. Pyrrha stormed out of the cafeteria, each step felt like thunder to Jaune. He knew why she was mad at him, and he would talk to her about this, but only after he took care of this whole business with Cardin.

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><p><em><strong>After School<strong>_

Jaune made sure to get to the dorm room first as to not worry his friends as to why he's rushing out of their room with all of his fighting equipment. But right as he was about to head off, he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Jaune, you know that you don't have to do this right?" It was Ren, he was hiding in the part of the room where the sun never touched, concealed by a veil of black. His sudden appearance elicited a girlish squeak from the blonde knight.

"Jeez Ren! Don't scare me like that! I almost had a heart attack!" Jaune said holding his chest where his heart is.

"Sorry about that, but I meant what I said Jaune. You can settle this any multitude of ways, and going to fight Cardin isn't the best choice here."

Jaune let out a long, drawn out sigh.

"Since when did you know?" Jaune asked with a defeated tone.

"You should make it a habit to lock your scroll before you throw it on the ground" Ren said, cracking a grin.

"Dang, that makes me feel really stupid. Does… Does Pyrrha know too?" Jaune asked with a hint of guilt.

"No, and I was planning on not having to tell her. But… What if something happens to you Jaune? You are the best strategist I've had the pleasure to meet, but your fighting skills aren't the best. I'm worried about you Jaune"

Jaune was caught off guard. They had barely shared a word together since their team was made. This was out of place for Ren, and Jaune didn't know what to say.

"I… I'll be fine Ren, thanks for worrying about me though" Jaune said as he tied the last piece of armour onto himself.

"You just watch, this'll all be over when I get back, it's not like he going to kill me!" Jaune yelled as he left.

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><p><em><strong>Beacon Cliffs<strong>_

"I'm going to kill you Arc!"

As soon as Jaune was in view of Cardin, he ran full speed at him, mace in hand, ready to strike. Jaune flailed about trying to get to Crocea Mors and his shield. He managed to lock weapons with Cardin and shove him away.

"WE DON'T NEED TO FIGHT CARDIN!" Jaune screamed at the monstrous looking teen recovering from being pushed away unexpectedly. Cardin didn't look himself, he looked bigger, more… Feral. He was doing what Jaune could only explain as growling and grunting. This scared Jaune, straight to his core. He could see the lust for blood in Cardin's eyes. If Jaune didn't fight, he knew that he would die.

_"AAARRRRRRCCC!_ " Cardin's voice was now an ear wrenching screech. He was changing, slowly, but Jaune could see it none the less. He had spikes coming out of his back, and parts of him were becoming pitch black.

"Oh god…" Jaune knew what was happening, he had learned it from his studies at Beacon. The creatures of Grimm appear when big amounts of negative energy are condensed in an area. But there were some very rare cases in which a person with a big enough of a negative emotion would act as a vacuum for the stuff. Making said person like a shell with nothing but those feelings inside. If it get's bad enough, and I mean really bad, the person would slowly turn into a Grimm themselves. Jaune was confused, Cardin had entered the advanced stages within ten minutes. This wasn't normal, and Jaune didn't like where it was leading. At this rate he would have to do his job as a hunter, and rid the world of one more Grimm…

(Que: (Utada Hikaru)-Sanctuary Ending)

'No!' Jaune thought to himself.

'Not again! I can't let this happen again! I came here to stop this, not to see it happen again!' Jaune was thinking of a way to help Cardin, any way. Until he heard Cardin call out to him.

"Jaune… Jaune…." Cardin only had 3/4 of his human face and his right arm and left leg left to prove that he was once a human. He was coughing up blood and motioning for Jaune to come closer… He went.

"Don't worry Cardin, I'll find a way to help yo-" Jaune was cut off by Cardin's weeping.

"You know that can't happen…. I'm too far gone, you know what you have to do Jaune" Cardin said through clenched teeth with tears streaming down his face. He was in a lot of pain.

"Tell Velv… *cough* that *wheeze* I'm sorry I couldn't hold out any longer….. and that I've always loved her" Cardin said, half of his face now Ursa.

"Stop talking like this is the end! I won't let your story end here Cardin, I can't… Not again" Jaune said starting to weep himself.

"You have to be brave Jaune! You…. AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!" Cardin let out a wail as his organs changed slowly from human to Ursa Grimm.

"Cardin!" Jaune yelled grabbing the other teen/grimm.

"BACKOFF! You want to… UGH….. You want to be a hunter right? *cough* I believe that you have the strength to be the best hunter out there. I GGGKKKNNNOOOWWWW IIIIITTTTTTT!" Cardin was almost full grimm by now.

"DDDDOOOOOOO IIIIIIIIIITTTTT! WHilE I'M StiLL Of HumAN MiNd…..! Please….." Cardin only had his left eye still in human form by this point. Jaune pulled out Crocea Mors and prepared to slice off Cardin's head just like he did to the ursa that attacked Cardin in Forever Fall.

"Irony is a cruel mistress" Jaune whispered while planting his feet.

"**I'm sorry for everything Jaune….. It wasn't the real me**" Cardin said right before Jaune flipped the last page of the book called Cardin Winchester.

(End: (Utada Hikaru)-Sanctuary Ending)

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><p><strong>Authors Note:<strong>

(I am going to be progressively making the chapters longer and taking more time to write them. I do take ideas that I am given (I will give credit if used), so feel free to review your ideas so I can see them. Or you could just review it normally? Whichever floats your boat I guess... Also, tell me if I should continue this. I did it on a whim, but it has a lot of views...)


	3. Chapter 3: The Confrontation

**(I took some more time to make this chapter a little longer, and I will be making the chapters after this one longer also. I hope you guys enjoy! :D)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: The Confrontation<strong>

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><p>It had been more than two hours since Jaune had left and Ren was starting to get more nervous. Ren was usually of clear mind, able to quickly find a solution to most problems. Thus, he would almost never get nervous over something as "trivial" as a fight. But this situation puzzled him. No matter how much he meditated or tried to relax, he couldn't help but feel worried. Like he KNEW something bad was bound to happen. When Pyrrha walked in she didn't really notice Ren's slight uneasiness, for he did not show his emotions much. But it only took Nora a few seconds after she got back before she was over next to Ren, poking his nose, asking what was wrong. Nora had known Ren almost all of their lives, and he'd never been this out of it. She poked and prodded until he finally gave up and told them what Jaune was up to, and that it had been three and a half hours since he left. That information almost broke Pyrrha. She knew what Jaune had been going through and she understood that he didn't want to "bother" anyone with his problems, it's just who he is.<p>

Ren withheld the location from the girls, already kicking himself for breaking his promise to Jaune that he wouldn't tell Pyrrha. He knew that, if for some reason, Jaune was still fighting Cardin, and Pyrrha came to "save" him. He would never be able to gain any confidence.

"Give me his scroll" Pyrrha said giving Ren a death glare for holding out with this information.

"What are you talking about?" Ren asked nervously, although unless you were Nora, you couldn't have told.

"I already checked where he usually leaves it and it's not there. And he never takes it with him because he doesn't like technology that much." Pyrrha stated, pointing to his dresser drawer. Ren eyed the spot she pointed.

'How does she know where he keeps it?' Ren thought to himself, also asking if Pyrrha's affection for Jaune was getting on the dark side. After a bit of Pyrrha's constant glaring he reluctantly pulled out Jaune's hidden scroll and handed it to Pyrrha.

After a few seconds her eyes went wide and she darted out of the dorm room, followed by Ren trying to stop her and Nora saying that "We really ARE going to break his legs this time". Team RWBY was exiting their room for a training session when they caught sight of a red blur and the NR of JNPR chasing it.

"Woah, what's all this about?" Yang asked with a smirk.

"Jauney's in trouble" Nora said, not seeming worried.

On that note, team RWBY joined on this rescue mission for the leader of team JNPR.

What they were met with when they got there, they would never forget for the rest of their lives. There was a mound of dirt and what seemed to be a chestplate at the head of it.

"Hey, doesn't that look like…" Ruby asked as they approached.

"A grave….." Ren said with a visible shadow over his eyes.

When they got closer, they saw that there was a name engraved into it.

**Cardin Winchester**

This made both Ruby and Nora vomit and elicited a gasp from Weiss. Everyone else just stood there, staring at the newly dug grave in disbelief.

"No… NO! Jaune couldn't have! He wouldn't!" Pyrrha yelled dropping to her knees. While Yang was helping her up, she caught sight of a yellow head on the edge of the cliff.

"Why don't we go ask him ourselves?" she said as she nodded her head to where Jaune stood. Everyone ran over to him while calling his name. When they got to him, he turned around with closed eyes and a wet face. He was smiling. Then, like a flash of light, he was gone… It took them a little to process what had just happened.

"OH MY GOD….. HE JUMPED!" Yang screamed while jumping off the ledge after him. Followed soon by the teams going to the edge to watch. More than one person was enough to catch him, any more and they would just get in the way.

Yang could hardly see, the wind in her eyes made them water like crazy. She fired shots from Ember Celica to hasten her descent. She finally caught up with the boy and grabbed him with one arm while repositioning so she would belly flop the ground that was steadily approaching. She then kicked off of the wall of stone and launched them into the nearby treeline.

"Just… Dropping in?" Yang said, mocking Jaune's words when he caught Weiss in their trial mission.

"You should've let me drop Yang, I don't deserve life."

This shocked Yang. I mean, sure, she wasn't friends with him per-se, but she knew his attitude, and this was the opposite of his normal, goofy self. It scared her, she only then felt the weight of the situation. Jaune had tried to kill himself, and he would have done it if they hadn't found out soon enough.

"Yang….. Before you take me back up. I need you to tell Velvet to go to the cliffs. I need to tell her something" Jaune said while avoiding eye contact. Yang, caught off guard by his sudden request could only say "sure".

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><p><strong>Back at the Cliffs<strong>

"They sure are taking their sweet time aren't they?" Weiss asked, arms crossed and tired of waiting.

This made both Pyrrha and Ruby to blush. Thinking of what they might be doing down there made them uneasy.

"Hey guys, where's Yang? She said that I needed to be he-…" She was cut off by the sight of the grave that entered her vision. Cardin's Grave…

Velvet dropped to her knees and stared at the chestplate/tombstone. Her eyes empty, almost like her soul had gone with him in that moment. The friends gathered around her, now knowing that Jaune was safe.

"What… What happened to him?" Velvet whispered loudly, as if her voice was being drained by the second.

"We… We don't know yet… All we know is that Jaune came to meet him an-" Ruby said before being cut off by Velvet.

"AND YOU JUST LET HIM GO?!" Velvet screamed, tears now flowing like a waterfall.

"We didn't know until it was already too late" Pyrrha said while looking at Ren, who was helping Nora with the situation.

Yang then, like on que, hopped up onto the edge of the cliff, said boy in arm. Yang let him go and immediately sat down, trying to comprehend what had just happened. While Jaune got up and started walking over to the group that was spread around the grave… That he had made. He didn't know if he could face them, but he had to tell Velvet. Velvet looked up and saw the shell of what was once Jaune Arc, slowly walking over, head down. She got up and started walking towards him also. It then got slowly faster, until she was a full sprint. Jaune looked up only long enough to see Velvet's fist. She had punched him, and it was hard. She kept repeatedly pummeling him with no resistance from the knight. The others ran over and pulled Velvet off only to see the damage she had caused. Jaune's nose was visibly broken what seemed like four times over in different areas. One of his eyes were bleeding profusely, and the other was too swollen for them to see. He was missing most of his teeth and he was coughing up blood. He was mutilated to say the least.

"Velvet! You could have killed him! What's your deal?!" Ruby asked while getting down to tend to her fellow leader.

"Who cares!" Velvet spat.

"He killed Cardin!" she said as she collapsed yet again. Her words echoing through everyone's minds. Could the lovable goof that everyone has come to know really do something so horrible? Pyrrha had already thought of the possibility and she didn't care. Cardin was the scum of the earth, no one cares when they take out the trash, this was the same thing to her.

"So what if he did?!" asked Ruby, surprising everyone. Pyrrha was about to say the exact same thing.

"Cardin is the one who invited him out her-" Ruby was saying before being interrupted by a loud, audible snapping noise. It was Jaune, his aura was already healing him. Which meant that his bones were snapping back into place, piece by *SNAP!* piece. This elicited a horrendous scream from the boy, this pain was very much worse than it being broken in the first place. This made everyone cringe. Except for Velvet, who had a wicked nasty grin on her face.

'H-Had she… Planned that?' Pyrrha thought in terror as she re-assessed the huntress next to her. After about thirty minutes it was starting to get dark out and no one had talked for the rest of that time. Jaune was almost fully healed, teeth and everything. He felt like it was the best time as ever. So he sat up, surprising some of his friends with his sudden movement. He then stared Velvet in her eyes.

"Cardin, he… He wanted me to tell you that…. That he loved you Velvet" Jaune said with immense sadness in his voice. This news shocked and confused everyone. Everyone but Velvet, she had a look in her eyes that was a mix of sadness, anger, and slight happiness.

"So he was finally able to say it huh? And it took him dying to get there…" Velvet said while putting a hand on the chest piece.

"Idiot" she said while holding back another wave of oncoming tears. It had only just then that it had sunk in to their friends. Jaune was a murderer, he had killed a human being.

"I… Guess I should explain…." said Jaune looking back down from Velvet.

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><p><strong>A Few Minutes Later<strong>

"You can't expect us to believe that do you?!" Blake asked angrily. Everyone was speechless at his story.

"I…. I don't think he's lying guys" Velvet said quietly.

"I mean sure, we've read about this in textbooks and such, but for it to actually happen?" asked Ruby, who was sat next to Jaune.

"I know this may be surprising, but Cardin and I were childhood friends…" Velvet said, trailing off at the end, as if looking into the past.

"His dad was extremely abusive to him, he was bullied all throughout his school years." Velvet said.

"We thought that we could escape all of that by coming here to Beacon. But he had changed into the Cardin that you all knew" Velvet said, starting to cry again.

"I just let him do what he wanted, I thought he would get over it and go back to the way he was. But he never did, and this is what happened" Velvet then looked at Jaune and… Hugged him? This made both Ruby and Pyrrha's eye twitch.

"W-w-what are y-y-you doing Velvet?" Asked Ruby, flustered by Velvet's sudden show of affection.

"I didn't know you had gone through so much for him Jaune. Even if he was a jerk, you fulfilled his wish to you" Velvet said as she cried into Jaune, hugging him tighter.

"I don't deserve your forgiveness Velvet…" Jaune said pushing her away.

"I… I killed someone. You should have finished the job when you had the chance" Jaune said.

*SLAP!* Pyrrha had slapped Jaune out of no where.

"You are the most idiotic person I know!' this was very out of character for Pyrrha, she was usually very collected and composed. What she looked like now didn't seem to be herself anymore. Her green make-up was smeared all over her face from all of the tears she shed for her team leader silently. Her face was that of pure anger and confusion.

"Do you honestly think that we… No! That I could live without you Jaune?!" Pyrrha said, finally lifting the immense weight that had been on her chest. But that weight was the only thing keeping her tears from coming back. She hugged Jaune and cried into his shoulder.

"Yeah Jaune, you're a great team leader and person" said Nora, having one of her brief moments of sincerity.

Ren then put a hand on Jaune's other shoulder.

"It takes a great heart to do what you did today Jaune. Cardin knew that it was too late and he trusted you enough to end his suffering. It's not your fault." Ren said quietly, almost at a whisper.

"B-b-but, I'm a murderer! He's never coming back… Ever!" Jaune cried.

"Then fulfill his wish Jaune" said Weiss.

"You mentioned something about him saying that you could be the best hunter didn't he?"

"Then strive for that Jaune, be the best you can be and do what he thought you could. I'd say that's a good way to honor his memory" Weiss's sudden outburst shocked the others, she was acting out of character also.

"Thanks Weiss, I guess I could do that…" Jaune said getting up.

It was almost fully dark out by now.

"I think we should all get a full night's sleep. We've all had a long day" Yang said going to the group from her spot on the cliff where she was sat.

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><p><strong>Ozpin's Office<strong>

"Well that was interesting" Ozpin said aloud to the figure standing in front of him.

"Yes… Very interesting indeed. He might just be everything you said he'd be Ozpin" Ironwood said, cracking a grin.

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><p><strong>Authors Note:<strong>

(There was A LOT of crying in this chapter huh? So, I've been feeling like this story has been doing badly, do to the review count. I just wanted to know if I should continue this or not? It will help me a lot., thanks!)


	4. Chapter 4: The Decision

**AN**: Hey Guys, I'm gonna start this off with saying that, as you've probably already noticed. Most of the characters are OOC, I meant it to be this way and I hope there is no confusion. It helps me flow through the story in my head better...

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><p>Jaune felt like crap, to say the least. He couldn't understand it, after Cardin... After everything that happened the day before, how could everyone sleep as if nothing had happened at all? He couldn't sleep at all, every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was the thing Cardin had turned into... Dead, by his hands nonetheless. It then hit him, he was in a school for training Huntsman and Huntresses. It was by far the most dangerous job in the world, people didn't JUST become a huntsman or a huntress without a driving force.<p>

Sure, Jaune's force was that he wanted to help people, like the heroes in the stories he always read. But he didn't know about his "friends", he was their leader, and as such, he should know them the best, but he didn't... He didn't even know why they wanted to be Huntsmen. Maybe they'd all experienced loss far greater than this, multiple times even. No, no even if that was the case, a life is a life, nothing changes that.

Even if Cardin wasn't the... Nicest person around. Jaune didn't care to think of him, the images would come back, he didn't want to remember Cardin from the state he was in. He had apologized with all of his heart before asking Jaune to take his life, that took bravery and honor, something that Jaune valued immensely, traits that the heroes in his stories had, traits that he lacked... A loud snort from Nora startled him out of his train of thought. Thinking back, he couldn't think of Nora having experienced any dramatic loss in her life, but he didn't know, was it a facade? Did she just FAKE being hyper and excited all of the time? He didn't know, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he didn't know anything about his team. This fact hit him like a freight train.

How could he call himself a worthy leader? Sure, Pyrrha had told him that he was well worth more than he had thought. He even believed her... Until now, until he realized that she probably only told him that so that his self loathing wouldn't get her or the rest of his team killed. He didn't deserve to be here, he didn't deserve these friends. He didn't earn his spot in Beacon, some person, who probably was far more skilled than Jaune mind you, could have made it in and been a much better addition to the school than him. That's when he decided, decided that he was going to leave and never come back. It was the third trimester but Jaune knew that they would have to replace him somehow. He took a quick look at his scroll.

'Good, it's only 6:00 in the morning, today is a Sunday so no one should be awake by the time I leave.' Jaune thought to himself.

He gathered all of his belongings into his bags and put on his armour ever so quietly, as to not wake his teammates. He was done by 6:15 and ready to go. He was at the door, just standing there, staring at it. Was this what he wanted? No, every fiber of his being wanted him to stay with his friends, but as Ruby had said, he couldn't be a failure because he was a leader now. So he decided that he would be a failure somewhere else.

"Wooow, sound logic Jaune. That sounded so much better in my head..." Jaune whispered to himself. He instantly regretted doing so though. As he heard Pyrrha grunt as she sat up, rubbing her eyes while doing so.

"Jaune? What are you doing? Why do you have a bag in your hand?" Pyrrha seemed to grumble out.

"Uh... Just going to do some early morning practice. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Jaune whispered, not even looked her way.

"Jaune... You don't get up this early EVER. What are you really doing? And why are you not looking at me? What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked, concern evident in her voice.

"N-n-nothing's wrong Pyrrha, honest! I think that I need a lot more training, so I've started going to train earlier than usual." Jaune said shakily. It wasn't fully true, but it wasn't a full lie either.

"Remember Jaune, we're all here for you. If there's anything you need to talk about you can trust us..." Pyrrha said, trailing off.

"I'm fine Pyrrha, seriously, I am." Jaune said opening the door to leave.

Just before Jaune closed the door, Pyrrha heard Jaune say "Thanks for everything". That was it, the tipping point. Everything came together at that time. The bags under his eyes and in his hands. The nervous tone in his voice. He was trying to leave! Trying being the main word here, Pyrrha would be damned if she let him leave. The team needed him, SHE needed him. She'd lost enough people in her life and she wasn't about to let another one go. Jaune had made a huge impact on Pyrrha's life in the short months that they had known each other. She had been alone most of her life, people seemed... Afraid of her. Like she was some perfect person that would be tainted by them even speaking to her. Jaune was different though, he had just met her and talked to her normally. He didn't even know who she was. He was brave and strong, it didn't matter what he thought of himself, she KNEW that he was amazing. He blocked that attack from the Death Stalker without much effort on his part. She hadn't thought much of it at the time, until she learned of his fake transcripts. He had done that with no prior training on his part. He had the makings to be one of the best. He couldn't leave now! He'd just started!

Pyrrha jumped out of her bed, now fully awake. She lunged out of the door and gave pursuit to Jaune who, now, was almost at the corner of the long hallway.

Jaune thought that his plan was foolproof, he'd say that he was going to train, then leave and never return. Seemed simple enough. That was, until he heard something behind him.

*THUD* *THUD* *THUD*

This noise was continuously getting closer and louder. By the time he had looked around, he got a face full of scarlet red. Next thing he knew, he was laying on his back with Pyrrha on top of him, crying. His things were strewn across the floor, evidence of his endeavor.

"What's wrong?! We heard a bang!" Yelled Ruby emerging from her dorm, followed by the rest of her team and the NR of JNPR.

'Oh great, whole gang's here now' Jaune thought to himself.

"What's going on? Pyrrha, why are you on top of Jaune? Are you crying? Did Jaune make you cry? Jaune, did you make Pyrrha cry?" Ruby shot out, almost as fast as Prof. Oobleck, which both horrified and impressed her friends.

'Pyrrha PLEASE don't tell them, for the love of dust-' Jaune's thoughts were cut short.

"J-J-Jaune was *sniff* Jaune was trying to leave!" Pyrrha struggled to say these words, like she didn't want to admit it.

"He WHAT?!" Everyone yelled at once, besides Ren of course.

Jaune winced when he heard this, there were already too many people here than what he wanted, drawing in more would not help in the slightest.

"Guys, could we maybe take this somewhere else? You know, before more people show up?"

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><p><em><strong>JNPR Dorm Room<strong>_

"Why would you even think of leaving Jaune?" Ruby asked right after they all took a seat and calmed down.

"Yeah Vomit-Boy, what's the big deal?" Yang asked with a semi-serious face.

Jaune let out a sigh, and started his story. The WHOLE story up until now, about his childhood, his fake transcripts... Everything.

A few awkward minutes after Jaune was done with his story Blake broke the silence.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say that we had no idea Jaune..."

That surprised Jaune, Blake had never before spoken to Jaune, let alone use his name.

"So... Does that mean that I can go now? The ship leaves in fifteen minutes and I don't want to miss it." Jaune said with his head down.

"Are you honestly still on that?!" Yelled Ruby, obviously really mad.

"YES Ruby, yes I am! I can't be a leader, I never could. I don't belong here, I never did and never will. Don't you guys get it? I came here with my little dream of being a hero for the people of the world. K... Killing Cardin woke me up." Jaune said with a defeated look in his eyes.

"You know what? I think he's right! I always got a vibe from him that was a little off, like he was hiding something, that he didn't belong. He shouldn't even be here right now!" Weiss said with a small laugh.

*BAM*

Pyrrha was on top of Weiss and pummeling her in the face.

"You think that you know?! YOU FUCKING BITCH! If anyone doesn't belong here, it's YOU, not Jaune! You're so cold and stuck up. You get everything you want, whenever you want. You wouldn't know what it feels like to work for something. I mean actually WORK for something, not pay people to teach you!"

It took a while for everyone process what Weiss had actually said. I mean sure, she can be bitchy sometimes... Okay, a lot of the time, but not on this level. Their confusion gave enough time for Pyrrha to both break Weiss' nose and her jaw.

By the time Ren pulled Pyrrha off of Weiss, she was already out cold. Blood pooled around the heiress' head from her nose. Jaune had already called the school medics and they were there in no time.

"Wow... I guess that Yang isn't the only one who can rage like that..." Nora said quietly.

Pyrrha was hugging Jaune's arm tightly, as in if she let go he would disappear from the face of the earth. No one knew what to say, or what to do.

Seeing this as an opportunity, Jaune spoke up.

"You guys... As you can see, this whole debacle has caused too many bad things to happen. I want you guys to be friends. And Weiss was right, I never belonged here, and I still don't" Jaune said trying to hold back tears.

Pyrrha tightened her grip when Jaune mentioned Weiss, he could sense hate from her.

"If that's what you think is best Jaune..." Pyrrha started.

"Okay! I'm glad that you see it my wa-"

"Then I'll just go with you!" Pyrrha said, surprising everyone there.

"W-w-w-wait a minute there Pyrrha, you have to think of your future. I don't even know where I'm going to go, you can't just-"

"If you go, I'm going too! I've made up my mind and I'm not changing it!" Pyrrha said pulling Jaune into her more so.

This action made Jaune blush extremely. No one had ever been so believing in him, not even his family.

"Y-you guys can't leave, what are we gonna do without you?!" Nora asked with the most worried look in her eyes that any of them had seen before.

"We can't very much just let those two go by themselves now can we Nora?" Ren said, startling most in the room.

"Are you all insane?!" Yang yelled, honestly confused as to why things escalated this quickly.

"We're a team, your team is your family. We're not abandoning our family." Stated Ren matter-of-factly.

"Ugh, you're all so stupid! I can't handle it!" Yang screamed as she stormed out of the room. Followed by Ruby.

Blake gave one last look at Jaune before she too followed the rest of her team.

"So... You guys realize that you coming with me would make my leaving pointless right? I want you to have the leader that you deserve, not ... Me..." Jaune trailed off.

"We all believe and trust you Jaune, we'll follow you to our deaths if you think that it's what's best." Pyrrha said, after calming down.

Jaune felt tears well up in his eyes, he really didn't know these guys at all.

"Well you guys better start packing then! We leave in thirty minutes, seeing as we missed the first flight." Jaune said with a grin.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Twenty minutes later<strong>_

Team JNPR was in front of the school with the RB of RWBY.

"You guys are actually leaving?!" Ruby said with concern.

"We're more likely to get a job being huntsmen with experience under our belts. We can just come back and join as third years to get our licenses." Pyrrha said, still latched onto Jaune's arm by the way.

"Plus, Jauney thinks it's what's best!" Exclaimed Nora vigorously.

"Is this really true Jaune?" Blake said with careful eyes, awaiting the answer.

"Well, I think it's best for me, not the whole team. They wouldn't let me go by myself anyway so..."

"JAUNE!" Blake yelled.

"Yes, I think it's what's best"

"Then it probably is, I wish you guys the best of luck and will see you in a year" Blake exclaimed.

"You agree with them?! I know what Yang feels like now! JEEZ!" Ruby said, flailing her arms into the air.

*Sigh* "There's no arguing anymore I guess. If I'm not going to see you for a while I guess that it won't hurt would it?"

"What are you- MMMFFHMM!"

The most unexpected happened... Ruby lent in and kissed Jaune, on the lips I might add.

This made Pyrrha blush madly, out of both embarrassment and anger.

Jaune had no clue what just happened, he didn't even have enough time to think about it because, right after Ruby pulled away, Pyrrha pulled him in and kissed him too.

"Well, I think that's our ship over there, time to go!" Ren said pulling Jaune away from the two girls and running for the ship.

"WAIT!" screamed Pyrrha as she chased after the rest of her team.

"Well that was unexpecte-" Blake was cut off by a sob... From Ruby.

"What if they don't make it back? What if they die out there? Will I be able to see Jaune again?"

"They'll be fine Ruby, I know they will. They have Jaune leading them" Blake didn't believe herself even the slightest, but what Ruby needed was the comfort of her words, so she supplied such.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Elsewhere<strong>_

"Ha Ha Ha! Now isn't that a great turn of events! Just spectacular!"

"Do you think this is funny?! They could very well die on their own, in the wild no less!" Glynda Goodwitch was furious, to say the least.

"But if they make it back to be third years, it will push our plans forward tenfold!' Ironwood said with hope in his voice.

"IF being the key word here..." Ozpin deadpanned.

"Are you saying that you don't believe in them Ozpin?" Ironwood said sarcastically.

"I believe in their skills... But not in their minds. This world is a dangerous place, it... Changes people, we all know this from experience." Ozpin's words made the smile on Ironwood's face dissipate as fast as it had appeared.

"Well I guess we'll just have to wait and see..." Ironwood said, looking through his scroll at the camera feed of team JNPR playing on the screen.

"That we will..." Ozpin replied.

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: I'm sorry this took so long to get out and that it's so short. Writers block sucks hardcore. I hope you enjoyed and, you know, a review or two wouldn't hurt... :D.


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